THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, AUGUST, 10 1903. THE LATE MR E. B. CARGILL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12737, 10 August 1903, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, AUGUST, 10 1903. THE LATE MR E. B. CARGILL.

By the death cf Mr Edward 'Bowe3 Cargill, which it is oxir sorrowful duiy to announce this morning, the community suffers the loss of one'of'ii3 most honoured citizens. The worthy son of a worthy father, , Mr Cprgill iKiartifested, in. a high degree, the possession of the qualities that so ■eminently fitted Captain ■ Cargill for the position he occupied as leader of the Otago settlement. If it had not been so it is difficult to believe that the name of Cargill would be almost as much a household word to-day ia Otago and Southland as it was half a century ago. ;For "events move rapidly nowadays ■ new conditions are constantly coming intq existence, and now peoples are arising which " know not Joseph." In England, we are told, the name of Gladstone has already ceased to exercise any special influence'over the public mind. Mr E. B. Cargill ably filled, liowaver, in. many respects the place his father before him. occupied in. Southern New Zealand. Indeed, as with the growth of settlement and the increased stiSehuousness of the times ib became corresxiondiagly more difficult to maintain a position of prominence an the community, the son may, without extravagance,, be said to have more than suec«ded in sustaining the family name. Sin was a man of an exceedingly alert sr/l ;ib tb.s same time of an exceedingly vnyoml mind. No narrow groove C!Efes the teerciae of his activities. .to ifcage of vision, iia less iharc «, sturdy independence of charKTier, mussed tlo earliest colonists of Otago, tid Mr Cargill in 'his., ow.

.person strongly exemplified'both of thesa qualities. He had .no cooner arrived in Dunedin 46 years ago than evidence of his enterprise and fore- 1 sight was shown by him. He perceived better than most of his contemporaries did the possibilities of tho commercial developments" of the district,, and he launched out into various undertakings which, while they,were not always attended by the success they deserved, were illustrative of the sagacxtyj .the .energy, and the enthusiasm of the man.. He and Ms firm "were the owners of the first steamer that was engaged in the coastal trade between Lyttelton, Dunedin, and the Bluff; they imported the first cargo of sugar that came 'from■ Mauritius; and they were the promoters oi the iirat intercolonial steam' service. They were cruelly buffeted by 'fortune: nre by land and shipwreck by *ea conspired to overcome them; but theirs were dauntless natures, and Mr Cargill'o buoyant spirit was no*, to be crushed by even the most severe misfortune. , It was Tjy'inen.of .'his sresowrcefulness and ■ enterprise that the foundations of tlis commercial prosperity of Otago were laid,.and only a fitting tribute to the .•wisdqnv !.nd fidelity which were ey.- . hibited in 'fa; performaiict. of tb.d groundwork is inipjied in, the acknowledgment Vrich U) generally maae that' nowhere , f", rjiie colony is the commercial structure more stibie tlnin ft 13 m this woyincial district.' To '■Mx Cargill it must have been i>. source of deep satisfaction t&at he was spared long enough to pee the trade ofi Otagb grow to '■ pie dimensions it Mas now assumed snd extended , to the ■ now reaches; and Hsrpscially nrast.it have been gratifying to him, a, pioneer of shipping in the South Island, to have Jived to witness the marvellous developments of I'he Union Steam .Ship Company, ssd to have beenpr'vileged, ua one of its directors, to take a jpa-rt in uonirolling the operations of >'ts nobl' , . rleet of iiiealojers, But other tome 61 local uidustry also deceived from him , gtoerpus and consistent support. It would,' in fact, be hardly possible io same any movemeno which was aesjgned to develop w,e moural- vesoiu'ce3 and mo • jromots; the material ■vjejfars 01* the distrkc ihat did not receivs the benefit 0* his warm advocacy.: in the ekablisoment and • extension of the woollen manufacturing industry, for instance, ho took tJi exc.Jdingly kesn and practical interest, and this waa uiain tamed right up to the last, ibr hia death creates a. vacancy in the board of drectors of the Mosgiel Woollen Factory Company. The people of Otago have had reason, Moreover, to be deeply indebted to Mr Oargill for the public spirit he exhibited in freely placing his'services at their disposal and in giving them the. advantage of his ripe judgment and his practical ability upon all manner of local bodies. In his declining years, when it became necessary for him 'to'conserve .his strength, he took a loss prominent part' in public life than he did a quarter cf a. century back , , but.it is not much more tliair fiArq. years ago 'that • the'- , ,, ratepayers • of. the -city, recognising in him th? person who was 3no3t-truly representative of the earlier times and who most directly connected the period of tho "Old Identity" with that of the "New Iniquity," bestowed upon him the highest gift iff their power and rev turned him as the Mayor of Dunedin for Otago's jubilee year. His appointment to that office, which he filled with dignity and ability, crowned a long, useful,,and honourable career of public activity; v ln the House of Representatives (in which, however, . he sat for only a couple of sessions), in, the Provincial Council, upon the Harbour Board, tnd numerous other bodies he had rendered the comluyuity much, valuable and valued service. Nor can the part he took in ~ building up the educational institutions of the diGtrict be overlooked. The University of Otago, of which he was, the vice-chancellor, was under a special obligation to him for the devofedness of his labours on its behalf. Mr Cargill was, in truth, a. citizen ; of \the very best type. Any undertaking that, had for its object the advancement of the .well-being, moral or material, of the community engaged his sympathy and, where necessary, ■ enlisted the aid of his fluent tongue. And it has been so right to the end. In the last' fev? months,, and even in the last few weeka, he showed that, despite tho weight of four score years, his mind retained its pristine vigour arid that his faculty for expressing his thoughts in >lueid and forcible lan- ' guage It is barely two months since ; he. was' heard in the Garrison Hall , commending 'with '.'characteristic..energy the project for erecting a-hall'in memory of the old settlers who had passed from the straggle of> life to'where, "beyond theao voices, there is peace." And now. .he has himself gone to join that goodly company of pioneer colonists who, sftev serving their day, and generation, to' the utmost of their ability, have succeeded to tho rest that' remaineth. While they lived they presented, most of them, a splen,did example to the younger colonists of grit una determination, of resolution and enterprise, of probity and .piety; and among those who, most conspicuously displayed these virtues must unquestionably be included Mr CargilL